The Story of Andrea's Labor

Told by her husband, Daniel,

who was there for every step and
who took detailed notes at Andrea's prior request

Pictures taken by Daniel and by Ceridwen

January 29:

9:30 a.m.: We went to Andrea's weekly appointment with Dr. Katrina Bradley, her OB/GYN. Once again, Andrea's dilation was measured at between 2-3 and she was 50% effaced. She had had identical exams the three previous weeks. Andrea asked to have her membranes stripped, which Dr. Bradley did. That made Andrea pretty crampy for the rest of the day. She worked a normal day, and I went to my law school class (an interesting course entitled "The Crisis of 2008") from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

8:30 p.m.: Andrea and I went for a walk around the city. We walked for probably 6 miles, including 7 or 8 times around Washington Square Park. We also got a cupcake at Crumbs Bakery (Reese's flavor) and ate it on a bench at Union Square Park. Andrea felt pretty crampy throughout the walk. But she just wanted to keep walking, since she really wanted to go into labor soon. In hindsight, we really probably didn't need to walk that far. :)

11:00 p.m.: Andrea's first real contraction hit. We were getting ready for bed, and Andrea told me that this one was so much different than the Braxton Hicks that she had previously had. She called her doula, Ceridwen, to let her know that she thought she might be going into labor, but that she wasn't sure. Andrea had already called Ceridwen several times over the previous two weeks in what were, we realize now, false alarms.

Ceridwen and Andrea, after the birth

11:30 p.m.: After 5 or 6 contractions, we decided that we would try to lie in bed and get some rest. That lasted about 3 minutes, when Andrea's next contraction hit, and she realized that she couldn't sleep through these. Andrea got up and paced around the apartment for a while, and then sat on the toilet for a while, as I prepared a bath for her.

January 30:

12:00 a.m.: Andrea got in the bathtub, and leaned forward on the side of the tub during each contraction. She quickly found out that a monotone moan made each contraction more bearable.

12:12 a.m.: I started timing Andrea's contractions. Within the next hour, she had 17 contractions.

12:25 a.m.: I called Ceridwen and told her that Andrea was definitely in labor and that she should come to our apartment.

12:50 a.m.: Andrea got out of the tub and got dressed and ready to go to the hospital. During each contraction, she leaned on me and put her arms around my neck, and we rocked back and forth.

1:05 a.m.: Ceridwen showed up. She knocked on the door during Andrea's worst contraction yet, so she had to wait nearly a minute for us to open the door. Just listening from outside our apartment to Andrea's breathing and moans, she knew that it was immediately time to go to the hospital.

1:10 a.m.: I called the doctor's nighttime phone service, where the operator took down our information and said she would get in touch with Dr. Olivares, one of Dr. Bradley's partners who was on call on Thursday night. (Andrea was excited that Dr. Olivares was on call. We had met her before and liked her just as much as we liked Dr. Bradley.)

Dr. Olivares

1:15 a.m.: Dr. Olivares called my phone, and I told her that we were ready to come to the hospital. She told us to go to triage on the 12th floor of the hospital (St. Luke's Roosevelt) and that she would see us after she heard how the resident's exam went.

1:20 a.m.: I got all of our stuff together (suitcase, backpack, camera bag, two food bags, and two pillows) and left the apartment with Andrea in Ceridwen's care. Outside our building, I had no trouble hailing a cab. I called Andrea and told her the cab was ready. On her way down to the cab, she had two major contractions. It's a good thing Ceridwen was there to help her through them.

1:25-1:37 a.m.: We rode in the cab to the hospital. There wasn't much traffic, and we hit most of the lights along the route (West Houston, Sixth Avenue, Central Park South, Columbus Circle, 59th Street). The cab driver was excited to have a laboring woman in his cab, and it was his last trip of the night. He knew exactly where to take us (the emergency room entrance on 59th Street is the nighttime entrance). The cab fare for the four-mile trip came to $14.75 (with tip).

Andrea dealt with her taxi-cab contractions really well.

Our proud taxi driver.

1:40 a.m.: Andrea and Ceridwen went in the building together while I got our stuff together and paid for the cab. When we got to triage on the 12th floor, we found out that our early hospital registration hadn't been processed, so I had to fill out all the paperwork and insurance information again before Andrea could get into triage. While I filled out paperwork, Ceridwen helped Andrea through the contractions.

A waiting-room contraction

2:00 a.m.: Andrea went into the triage room and got changed into her hospital gown. They would only let one person go with her, so Ceridwen stayed in the waiting room with all our stuff. While we waited for the monitors to be hooked up, Andrea had 3 or 4 strong contractions that I held her and rocked her through.

2:15-2:40 a.m.: The monitors showed that Olivia's heartbeat was just fine (it fluctuated upwards from a base of about 120). Andrea's contractions came came every 2-3 minutes, and generally measured around 60-65 at their peak, but got as high as 90. (To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue what the units of measurement are, or what they mean. I just included the detail for those of you who know. In any case, the contractions were clearly identifiable.)

2:25 a.m.: Ceridwen showed up in the triage room. Since Andrea was the only woman in triage, Ceridwen was able to talk her way into coming to support her. It was nice to have her there.

2:40 a.m.: After declaring that the monitoring appeared "reassuring" (a hospital's way of saying good), the resident (Dr. Hassan, I think) performed the vaginal exam. Andrea was dilated to a 4 and was 80% effaced. The resident told us that to be admitted to the birthing center, Andrea had to be dilated to a 6. She told us that Andrea should put her clothes on and either go walking outside or go home. After a couple more hours, she would check her again to see if she'd dilated to a 6. However, Andrea's contractions were so painful that we knew we shouldn't leave the hospital. So we just stayed in triage while Andrea continued having contractions.

2:50 a.m.: During Andrea's first contraction after standing up from the exam, she exclaimed, "My water just broke!" Sure enough, she had made a little mess on the floor. She told us that she had felt Olivia change positions a little bit inside and that it had caused the water to break. At this point, we knew we shouldn't leave the hospital. Andrea continued to have contractions, which were now much more painful. Instead of standing up and rocking back and forth through them, she sat on my knees as I sat in a chair, and she leaned forward onto Ceridwen.

3:05 a.m.: The nurse came and told us that we couldn't be in triage anymore and that we needed to leave the hospital until the two hours had passed for the next exam. Ceridwen went and tried to convince the resident to exam Andrea again, but the resident refused, citing "hospital policy" that she couldn't give a second exam until two hours after the first one, since Andrea was a firsttime mom. Andrea could have made the choice to be admitted directly into the labor and delivery unit (the normal hospital where most births take place) instead of the birthing center (a small, homey environment where only natural births take place). However, she decided that she would rather wait to be admitted to the birthing center, where she could labor in a jacuzzi tub and where she wouldn't have to be hooked into an IV and strapped to a monitor.

3:10 a.m.: Ceridwen got in touch with Dr. Olivares directly, who was already in the hospital. Dr. Olivares said we should get examined soon, and that she would admit Andrea into the birthing center as soon as Andrea was dilated to a 6. By this time, Andrea was no longer moaning during contractions--she was screaming "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

3:25 a.m.: Andrea's intensifying screams during contractions finally convinced the resident that maybe Andrea was progressing faster than a typical firsttime mom and that she should be examined again. The exam showed that Andrea was indeed dilated to a 6. The resident called Dr. Olivares.

3:35 a.m.: After making preparatory arrangements with the birthing center, Dr. Olivares showed up in triage to escort Andrea down to the birthing center on the 11th floor. Andrea was so glad to see Dr. Olivares after the horrible experience in triage, which she later described as "a living hell."

3:40 a.m.: Andrea left triage in a wheelchair, accompanied by Dr. Olivares, Ceridwen, and a nurse. I stayed behind to gather our stuff. Even though I didn't know my way around the hospital, it was easy to follow the entourage by listening to Andrea go through two contractions on her way to the birthing center.

3:45 a.m.: After two hours of being in the hospital already, Andrea was finally admitted into the birthing center. When she got into her room (birthing room #1), she ripped off her hospital gown and hopped into the jacuzzi tub, which had already been filling with warm water for several minutes on Dr. Olivares's orders. The water was instantly soothing to her. When I got to the birthing center moments later, Andrea wanted me to change into my swimming suit (which I had packed) and to get into the tub with her.

3:50-5:10 a.m.: Andrea labored in the jacuzzi tub for over an hour. These contractions were by far the most painful. I sat behind Andrea and held her. For most of the time, she lay on her right side with her feet against the wall of the tub. During contractions, she would squeeze my arm tightly. In between contractions, she would rest in my arms, where she would try to sleep. Ceridwen sat right next to the tub, facing Andrea. She would help Andrea sip Gatorade between some contractions. (Note to future moms: bring flexy straws to use during labor. It made it a whole lot easier for Andrea to sip her drink.) During Andrea's time in the tub, Sue, the nurse, monitored Olivia's heartbeat every 10-15 minutes with a small microphone machine. One benefit to being in the birthing center is one-to-one nursing. Sue was wonderful!

Sue, our wonderful nurse

4:10 a.m.: Dr. Olivares performed an exam, and Andrea was dilated to a 7. Olivia's head had dropped into the 0 position. Soon after this exam, Andrea's contractions intensified even further as she began transition. In order to fight her strong urge to push, she had to concentrate on her breathing. So instead of screaming through contractions, she was now taking deep but rapid breaths. This helped to avoid the grunts that accompany pushing. To help Andrea concentrate on the breathing, Ceridwen sat close to Andrea and took breaths together with her. Sue turned down the lights in the room very low.

4:30 a.m.: After her worst contraction yet, Andrea started bawling and told us she couldn't take it anymore. Ceridwen, Sue, and I all gave Andrea as much encouragement as we could. She really was doing such an amazing job!

4:50 a.m.: Andrea's contractions became shorter and less intense. She didn't squeeze my arm quite as tight as before. However, Andrea continued her pattern of breathing during contractions and had to focus more than ever on not pushing.

5:00 a.m.: Dr. Olivares performed another exam, and confirmed that Andrea was dilated to a 10. This meant that she had finished transition (which is why the contractions were now less intense) and that she was now in the pushing phase. She allowed Andrea to have 2 more contractions in the tub and allowed her to push. Although there was a little grunting through these contractions, Andrea used these ten minutes to rest up a little.

5:10 a.m.: Andrea got out of the tub. There was never really any discussion or even a conscious decision about where Andrea would go to push. She just got onto the bed on her hands and knees, and the nurse covered her with a sheet. Dr. Olivares got all of the instruments into place at the foot of the bed. Dr. Olivares, Sue, Ceridwen, and I all waited at the foot of the bed, watching Olivia's head appear more and more during each contraction. Andrea threw up a couple of times.

5:32 a.m.: After five or six contractions during which Andrea pushed, Olivia's head came through. With one more push during that same contraction, Olivia's shoulder popped through and then she was quickly all the way out. Immediately, Dr. Olivares took Olivia between Andrea's legs and put Olivia on the bed underneath Andrea. Sue suctioned out Olivia's mouth, and toweled off the blood. I returned to the foot of the bed where I cut the umbilical cord.

Moments after birth. The umbilical cord is still attached here.

Sue suctions out Olivia's mouth

5:37 a.m.: Andrea delivered the placenta. She was then done with her contractions.

5:40 a.m.: Dr. Olivares informed Andrea that she had torn a little bit, and she quickly stitched Andrea up with one internal stitch and one external stitch. Shortly after this, Andrea was able to lie on her back in the bed, where Olivia was immediately put onto her chest.

6:00 a.m.: Because of the low lighting in the room, Olivia had her eyes wide open for a long time before she latched on for the first time to breastfeed. As I sat with Andrea and Olivia, I was able to relax and reflect for the first time in hours. I realized that I had just witnessed, and was continuing to witness, one of God's greatest miracles. And I cried.